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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29469909">I like you, asshole.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinzeNorim/pseuds/LinzeNorim'>LinzeNorim</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ranma 1/2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>After the events of the manga, Aged-Up Character(s), Fluff, Hinted Internalized Homophobia, How do I make some words from the summary italicised lmao, I like flustered Ranma alr?, Incredibly Self-Indulgent, It’s been awhile okay?, I’m lying it’s super ooc, M/M, Mild Angst, Ryoga’s a little shit here okay, bad humour, slightly smexy, sort of ooc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:20:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29469909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinzeNorim/pseuds/LinzeNorim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They stood like that awkwardly before Ryoga decided to bend over. Bend over. Then he looked at him with a knowing glint in his eyes, but he still makes the futile attempt to mask his amusement, like the shitty try-hard gentleman he is.</p><p>“What’s with the long face?”</p><p>Nothing about my face is long. Nothing about me is long, asshole. His mind helpfully supplies.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hibiki Ryouga/Saotome Ranma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I like you, asshole.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368211">Idiot, he was</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theclocksays7/pseuds/Theclocksays7">Theclocksays7</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first Ranma 1/2 fanfic!! And first finished fic as well lmao. I had the urge to write at 3:00 am in the morning so I did!! And I present to you this fic. Inspired by Theclocksays7’s work “Idiot, he was.” Check it out I swear it’s SO GOOD. Only the dialogue I took inspiration from though, like there’s a specific part here that’s very reminiscent of a scene there. I would appreciate feedback!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ranma thinks that this is it, his first real lost against the pig-brained menace.</p><p>Ryoga had gotten taller.</p><p>He’s almost a foot above over him, all huge and muscular and fucking <em>intimidating. </em>Ranma’s eyes are barley holding onto the edge of the asshole’s shoulder, opting to glare at said shoulder to avoid gauging the man’s reaction to their unfair height difference.</p><p>He knows that he himself anticipated this, that Ryoga would soon outgrow him. Both Genma and Nodoka appear to be on the shorter side of the spectrum anyway (of their respective genders). Ranma had convinced himself that he was completely fine with it. Height doesn’t dictate anything. It’s a miracle that he outgrew his dad already, and that was enough.</p><p>But it really isn’t, compared to this absolute tank.</p><p>They stood like that awkwardly before Ryoga decided to bend over. <em>Bend</em> <em>over.</em> Then he looked at him with a knowing glint in his eyes, but he still makes the futile attempt to mask his amusement, like the shitty try-hard gentleman he is.</p><p>“What’s with the long face?”</p><p><em>Nothing about my face is long. Nothing about me is long, asshole.</em> His mind helpfully supplies.</p><p>He scowls before lifting his bowed head, intending to level him up with a stare that promised a brutal takedown. He ends up giving an almost sheepish one, if not for its forced spunk that thankfully saved him from looking any more pathetic.</p><p>“Shut up and lift yer big head.”</p><p>“Big?” Ryoga replies, amusement clearly permeating his voice. Is he even trying to hide it anymore?</p><p>“That’s not what I meant.”</p><p>“What do you mean by that’s not what you meant?”</p><p>“Ya know what I’m exactly hinting at—“</p><p>“Spell it out for me Ranma.”</p><p>His mouth gapes. Is P-chan egging him on? Where did his rival’s hot-headedness disappear to? Ryoga’s usually on the receiving end of the teasing and he’s supposed to be the tormentor. The fact that a simple height difference made them do a one-eighty fills him with an unfamiliar kind of shame, not entirely the worst he’s dealt with at least.</p><p>“Well?” Ryoga had the nerve to probe further, lifting his body weight up to look down on Ranma’s comparatively puny self. He can’t tell if Ryoga’s back was actually hurting or if he just wanted to tower over him and silently rub the fact that he <em>towers</em> over him in his face.</p><p>Ranma gnaws his teeth, straightening his back uselessly as he eyes the shithead in front of him. He then lifts an eyebrow to emphasise his irritation, scanning Ryoga from top to bottom a bunch of times till he gets the hint. It’s better than hearing himself admit to the other man’s <em>tall</em> stature and consequently add to Ryoga’s growing ego. Isn’t he supposed to be the egotistical bastard here?</p><p>Ryoga thankfully drops it. He supposed that he’s satisfied with the quick once-over he did.</p><p>“You finally dropped it, knowin’ how much of a stubborn mule ya are.” He can’t help but comment.</p><p>“I got the certified asshole, Ranma Saotome, to ogle me. If that’s not enough to stop me then I don’t know what else will.”</p><p>Ranma blinks owlishly, surprised yet again.</p><p>“What? Are <em>you</em> an idiot? I wasn’t ogling you— I was just uh- just” He splutters, trying to will away the heat creeping up to his cheeks in record time.</p><p>God, what a joke. Why is he so flustered over being accused of such a thing?</p><p>Ryoga seems to notice his current crisis, and looms over to ruffle his hair, which proved to be a stupid idea, considering that he still wore his usual pigtail which made his scalp much easier to pull. </p><p class="p2">Ryoga, again, notices something, his eyes widening bit by bit.</p><p class="p2">He then lowers his left hand, still sticking to Ranma’s pitiful existence as he slowly, <em>agonisingly</em>, dips his hand to cup Ranma’s jaw, daring to graze his thumb and rub back and forth, glancing upwards with genuine worry.</p><p class="p2">Ranma squawks, his skin prickling.</p><p class="p2">He’s not sure if the blush on his cheeks are what he’s inspecting. He should really move. Really, <em>really</em> move. But he stays put, body taut and mouth dry from all the casual touching.</p><p class="p2">Ryoga’s hands move to envelop the right side of his face with his hideously big hand (he’s pretty sure that his hands are roughly the same size, but<span class="s1"> this whole ordeal makes him feel anything but equally matched)</span> feeling the scars littered across Ryoga’s palm, that he assumes most came from their many battles where they pitted themselves against each other. It’s weirdly intimate, and Ranma feels like his heart is about to leap out of his chest.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Are you.. blushing?” Ryoga blinks, incredulous expression on his face. Like he didn’t just invade his personal space and snatched his dignity away with just a hand.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He can’t take any more of this, letting his eyes fall shut with a sigh as he slightly tips himself out of Ryoga’s hand to lightly bang his head on the doof’s shoulder. It hides his reddening face conveniently, though his awareness increased tenfold due to the sensory overload.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Liar.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut up, idiot.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ryoga stops speaking for a while, then returns his half-hug by placing his hands on the sides of Ranma’s upper body, near the ribcage, leaning into him to rest his head on his shoulder. It prompted Ranma to lift his arms up in tandem, as if his body subconsciously decided to be in on Ryoga’s schemes to humiliate him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">He expects to get lifted up, but his toes remained planted on the gravel beneath them, and his arms were still frozen in its previous position. </p><p class="p1">Weird.<br/><br/>Ryoga then pulls away, giving enough distance for him to level Ranma up with a stare of his own, and that somehow coaxes the latter to rest his paralysed limbs on Ryoga’s biceps. They stay like that, for what feels like a whole decade, until one of them opens his mouth to deliver a dumb comment.</p><p class="p1">”What are we doing.” It wasn’t a question, Ranma decides to reply anyway.</p><p class="p1">”Humiliating me.”</p><p class="p1">”Hm, maybe.”</p><p class="p1">Ryoga then calmly eyes him from his head to his toes when he, in contrast, is trying his hardest to <em>stop fucking shaking </em>from the scrutiny; he doesn’t know what to do with his eyes and his mouth, suddenly too aware of his facial features. Ryoga then stops to make eye-contact with him, lines forming in between his eyebrows, as if he’s thinking of what to do with him.</p><p class="p1"><em>Fucking asshole</em>. He curses him out internally before forming a look of disappointment. Who was he to play him around like this? More importantly, what was he acting all compliant for? It’s almost like he’s expecting something, from this idiot out of all people.</p><p class="p1">Ranma then slides his arms down on Ryoga’s own, intending to pull away but he’s horrendously slow at doing so. His touch lingers, for some reason, and he looks up at Ryoga, his brows furrowing (inadvertently) crookedly instead of forming slanted lines, mouth (inadvertently) pouting instead of frowning, giving off the impression that he’s impatiently waiting for his instructions on how to proceed.</p><p class="p1">Ryoga seemed to have taken that as an invitation of whatever he’s planning, and he realises that fact belatedly right after Ryoga leaned forward. And just like that, he seizes his mouth. Desperation and the result of holding back evident in the manner in which he <em>kisses</em> him; like a barrier had been broken, like a dam had bursted due to a flood of repressed emotions.</p><p>He’s not sure what to think of this, but he can’t even bring himself to think at all. The warmth from Ryoga is damn near overwhelming, and his body became pliant in an instant. He only knows that Ryoga <em>wants </em>this, despite not knowing his reason for wantingto anyway.</p><p class="p1">He fucking melts, and he holds on to Ryoga’s shoulders for dear life before his legs could give up. His heart’s racing, soaring, his stomach filp-floping, manifesting butterflies. He kisses back, partially cause he wants to beat him in his own game and the other due to how inexplicably intense, and dare he say, <em>good</em> it feels. They keep going, kissing fervently; inexperienced, but still in synch. He almost laughs at the thought of how in synch they are, anything-goes martial arts really does carry onto anything he does. But Ryoga pushes further, silencing him of letting out any audible noise.</p><p class="p1">His grip on Ryoga tightens as he’s forced to the wall behind him, his breath still hot on Ryoga’s mouth.</p><p class="p1">Ranma attempts to lift his arms up to grip on the other’s hair but is quickly pulled back by Ryoga in favour of pushing them backwards, hitting the wall. <br/><br/>Ryoga still didn’t enter his mouth, pressing only rough, half-open mouthed kisses and Ranma is so <em>so</em> close to initiating an open-mouthed kiss himself.</p><p class="p1">In the heat of the moment, he thinks of Akane for a while. His confusion, lust, and guilt forcing him to visualise a scenario. He starts to think of kissing her like this, thinks of desiring to kiss her with an open mouth like he wants to with Ryoga. But he internally flinches. It isn’t an unpleasant thought, but it just feels<em> misplaced</em>.</p><p class="p1">Akane being held by him, standing centimetres smaller. Akane kissing him, tip-toed and eager.</p><p class="p1">Like pressing down the wrong puzzle piece.</p><p class="p1">He’s kissed Akane before, he knows this. But the difference is that he’s got something to compare it to; and God was it different in every way imaginable.</p><p class="p1">The intensity was there, unlike when Akane first tried to initiate a heated kiss, fighting back his slight discomfort as to not get hit by a mallet. The flood of warmth coiling beneath his stomach felt new, when the only type of heat he felt when kissing her back was sweltering, and knots were the only things to coil beneath his stomach when they continued the exchange of lips. Lastly, the overall feeling was different. While Akane’s kisses felt like they were never halting, Ryoga’s felt like they were tastefully unrelenting— they were slow in a way that satiated him, not in a way that dragged on for far too long.</p><p class="p1">He feels embarrassed of admitting this to himself, that he enjoys kissing a man in place of his fiancée.</p><p class="p1">He then uses his strong desire to drown out his shame, to not think of the future as fuel for putting an unnecessary amount of force to remove Ryoga’s grip on his arms as he quickly reaches up to put both his hands on the back of the other’s neck. His grip was nearly bruising, but Ryoga didn’t mind, as per usual with his absurdly rock-hard body. That fact made his pants tighten, much to his annoyance. He boldly attempted to insert his tongue but Ryoga beats him to it— another annoying action that turned him on. They went on for quite a while, exploring each other’s mouths as small puffs of air were exchanged, tickling their skin. Ryoga’s hands settle for hips, tightly gripping both sides, limiting his range of movement.</p><p class="p1">He lets out an embarrassing moan when Ryoga nibbled on the back of his ear, licking an area that shocks his whole body, making him mouth out <em>please </em>as quietly as he’s physically able to. Showing him no mercy, he then decided to lower his head down to bite on the underside of his jaw, and his whole head snaps back as he untangles one hand to cover the loud sound that dared to come out of his mouth, back arching and hitting the wall.</p><p class="p1">He swears that he blanked out for a second.</p><p class="p1">Ryoga drags himself back in front of him, diving in for another kiss with tongue and he almost loses it, trembling from want and desperation. Unfortunately, it was short-lived as Ryoga then parted from him with saliva still stringing their mouths, and Ranma nearly whined at the lost.</p><p class="p1">His mind was turning into mush, naught of any focus.</p><p class="p1">He makes the mistake of looking up at Ryoga’s stupidly handsome face, made worse with his fang-adorned grin. He looks debauched and infuriatingly sexy, his golden eyes leaving him wanting more. And he really, <em>really</em> did.</p><p class="p1">”I like you.” Ryoga says, voice hoarse.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Idiot. </em>
</p><p class="p1">”I like you.”</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Idiot.</em>
</p><p class="p1">”I like you.”</p><p class="p1">”Idiot.” He replies audibly, hugging Ryoga with a sigh.</p><p class="p1">The hug was lengthy enough to help Ranma in settling down, his jeans exerting less pressure. Those moments of fragile silence pushed the reality of everything to come forth from the back of his very mind. He’s been avoiding it, but his repressed guilt came back in full force to knock him out of bounds, the harsh repercussions of his actions ready to be pondered on.</p><p class="p1">This made things all the more complicated. It’s too much to take in. The revelation on why his gaze always lingered to the bandana-clad man, whenever he wasn’t looking, feeling something slightly off but craved that <em>off </em>feeling nonetheless; years of fights and battles that only served as a fronts for them to meet up without having a sappy reason to; why he was so inexplicably drawn to him, eager to touch Ryoga whenever they were alone. Now that he had been gifted many chances to, he can’t pull away from him at all, his need to do so mingling with his vulnerable headspace, latching onto the last person who knows most of his secrets.</p><p class="p1">”Figure it out.” Ryoga whispers near his left ear, tickling his skin. He’s not sure if he’s pertaining to his feelings for him or what he’ll do with Akane, his family, and himself. Probably both.</p><p class="p1">”I will.” Ranma replies, pulling Ryoga close to him to rest his head on Ryoga’s shoulder, shuddering from the cool breeze that hits him.</p><p class="p1">He’s still burdened with the thought of how fucked up this whole thing is, especially to Akane. He had the gall to kiss his rival back when he hadn’t even broken off his engagement yet, hoping to feel any spark of romantic affection or sexual inclination towards his fiancée. He thought that if he’ll wait it out, he’ll eventually fall in love with her and things would be so much easier.</p><p class="p1">He kept her on hold while she’s waiting for him to pop the question, running away like he usually does when stumped with a fight he can’t win with just his legs and fists. He’s not the strongest when it comes to feelings, or life changing decisions— anything that carries weight really. He’s used to things being silly, comical, and easily fixed with a winner. But this, he can’t deal with.</p><p class="p1">His eyes started to water, a physical manifestation of his shame. <br/><br/>Ryoga notices that his shoulder was beginning to dampen, and rushed to move backwards and wipe the second set of tears away with his thumbs as soon as they came crumbling down to Ranma’s red-stained cheeks. He looks concerned, and Ranma can tell that Ryoga <em>knows</em>. He can’t find it in himself to be surprised. It would be stupid to be, considering that this is his incessant rival that pained his ass more ways than one. His best friend that refused the title of <em>Ranma Saotome’s best friend</em> until last two years ago when he begrudgingly admitted to not wanting to kill him anymore, though he preferred to be called his rival still. His secret confidant, when he expressed feelings of doubt and remorse, who gave him tight grips on either of his shoulders for reassurance and to remind him that he’s there, listening to him blabber about how insanely indecisive he was. Now, he came back from his two-year long dematerialisation period to swiftly sweep him off his feet with his taller-than-appropriate self, becoming the living proof that Ranma’s libido in fact exists, and is strong to boot.</p><p class="p1">Ranma fidgets, having the sudden inclination to hug Ryoga stupid, to feel his skin on his, to earn a split second of bliss. It’s so selfish, but the endearing gesture of wiping his tears away won him over. And so he does, snaking his arms to wrap around Ryoga’s middle part, sinking into him in the form of a tight embrace as he presses his face to his chest.</p><p class="p1">He feels Ryoga freeze for a fleeting moment, before a hum escapes him, resting his arms on Ranma’s shoulders. The second of trepidation made Ranma’s heart swell, smug and giddy that he finally managed to be a step ahead of him for once regarding thisback and forth between them.</p><p class="p1">Ryoga had this weird ability to make him forget. All their fights had been cathartic for him, and he can tell Ryoga felt the same way, proof of this being the one to demand all the fighting in the first place; all of their talks had left him feeling rejuvenated, suddenly free from the burden of expectations and familial responsibility; all of their time spent together being dumb idiots who bicker and fight over every little thing (mostly initiated by Ryoga) were the most peaceful, paradoxically so due to the destruction of property that normally came with it.</p><p class="p1">Ranma knowns for quite some time now that he uses Ryoga like an escape from adulting, and he’s told him about it, not wanting to hide anything to a best friend (no matter how shitty it makes him look). Ryoga didn’t seem to mind, confessing that he himself is utilising their friendship to fill in the empty void in his heart (emo bastard), his loneliness precisely. So they were in agreement with what they wanted to do with each other.</p><p class="p1">But that seemed to have changed, and Ranma feels backed into a corner. Ryoga confessed to him, and he feels the same way. He’s literally vibrating out of his skin, ready to tackle him and never let go. But that simply isn’t possible if he keeps on turning the other cheek on problems that are half-dealt with. Ranma had restrained himself of voicing out what he really wanted ever since his kiss with Akane, and that is to call off the engagement before it got out of hand.</p><p>He’s pretty sure that Ryoga assaulted his lips on purpose to get some sense in that stubborn head of his. Opposite to him, Ryoga seemed to have his priorities set straight, and one of those priorities was to woo Ranma with cool, suave gestures. </p><p>To say that it worked is an understatement.</p><p class="p1">He wants to smack him for making him tear up, but it was a very necessary wakeup call, and he’s too smitten to shit on him for it anyway.</p><p class="p1">They pull away, and Ranma expects a face full of Ryoga with a shit-eating grin, but was unexpectedly greeted with the sight of a red-faced, blatantly embarrassed Ryoga. He’s gripping onto his shoulders tightly, the little tremble of his hands signalling that this is <em>too</em> much, even for him. His eyes are even squinting, his face wrinkle-prone. He has this strange look of embarrassment mixed with constipation and it’s absolutely <em>adorable</em>.</p><p class="p1">It’s very reminiscent of his younger self.</p><p class="p1">He’s probably used up all the confidence he managed to muster up.</p><p class="p1">Ranma relishes on the sight before he glances back up at him, his smug expression melting into one of fondness. </p><p class="p1">“Thank you.” <em>for making me realise who the real idiot is. </em>Goes unsaid.</p><p class="p1"> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m never uploading a fic right after I finish it on the first try ever again😭✋✋✋ I had to update this like a few times to satisfy myself ANDHHDSH</p></blockquote></div></div>
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